The ABC's of Resume Writing | "V" is for Volunteer.

V: Highlight VOLUNTEER Activities to Showcase Your Leadership Skills.

We all know that employers focus on career experience and skills when trying to decide if a candidate should be considered for an interview and ultimately employment. However, there is another area of your professional career that you should give consideration to when writing your resume: volunteer activities. Volunteer activities can be an important aspect of your professional career and there are three reasons why you should definitely list volunteer activities on your resume.

The ABC's of Resume Writing | "L" is for LEAD

L: Lead Off Accomplishments With Results.

Accomplishments can make or break your resume. Accomplishments are why employers read your resume in the first place and when I say read, I really mean scan because employers do not read resumes thoroughly, at most, they give them a casual scan. Because resumes are a marketing tool, your accomplishments need to be written to sell your skills and abilities to the employer. Your accomplishments must entice them to make a purchase, e.g., to “buy” you and invite you in for an interview. You may be thinking, "What is the best way to write my accomplishments?" Of course you should start each accomplishment with a strong action verb, but there is one little trick to help your accomplishments really stand out.

The ABC's of Resume Writing | "E" is for ENDORSEMENTS

E: Endorsements: The best kept secret in resume writing today!

What better way to find a service you need than to solicit recommendations from people you trust? How many times have you acted on the recommendation of a friend, colleague, or family member and been thoroughly pleased with the result? Think of that restaurant you would never have eaten at had it not been for your co-worker who had a terrific meal there and recommended the place to you. Or what about the recommendation to the automotive repair shop that came through for you with great service and a fair price that your friend has been using for years? How did patronizing these establishments feel? For most of you, I am sure your experience was great and when it comes to your job search, what better way to highlight your value than to let someone else do it for you? 

The ABC's of Resume Writing | "D" is for DATES

D: Playing the Dating game!

In this week’s earlier post, I talked about using the right contact information in your resume. In addition to your name, address, phone number and email, you should include your LinkedIn URL and Twitter id. Including these last two items shows that you are social-networking savvy and are keeping current with the latest tools. In this post, I talk about strategies for displaying dates in your resume.

Dates show up in a few places on resumes, namely in the professional experience section when listing employers as well as when listing education, professional affiliations, community service, and additional training. So what is the best strategy for listing dates? Stay with me as I take you through each section.

The ABC's of Resume Writing | "C" is for CONTACT

C: Include the right CONTACT information on your resume.

In today’s post, I will be discussing the next letter in the series of the ABC’s of Resume Writing, “C”, which represents your contact information. Including the right contact information sounds easy enough, right? Not so fast. Most of us know to include our name, our mailing address, email, and phone number (cell and or home). But what if you have a nickname that you go by, or you have concerns about including your street address? What if you are thinking about including your work email and phone number? Also, what about your LinkedIn URL or your Twitter ID? In this age of social networking, adding these to your resume is encouraged, if not mandatory. Just be sure to include the following items in your contact information and you’ll be okay:

Name: Your name should be in bold and be the largest font size on your resume. Nothing should be larger than your name, because after all, it is your name that you want to reader to remember. If you go by a shorten version of your name, be sure to include this name.  For instance, if your name is Thomas Roberts, but you prefer to go by Tom, then write your name as Tom Roberts. If you go by a totally different name than your given name, include this name on your resume as long as it is professional. For example, if your given name is Charles Jones, but you go by Craig, list your name as Craig Jones.  You can also choose to write your name as Charles “Craig” Jones.  Either is appropriate. 

The ABC's of Resume Writing | "A" is for ART

A: Resume writing is an Art, not a science.

Surprise! There is not just one way to write a resume. Resume writing has long been considered an art not a science. If resume writing was in fact a science, then there would not be thousands of books on the subject of resume writing and the resume writing profession would not be as prolific. If resume writing was a science, then you could just follow the prescribed steps and be guaranteed positive results. Resume writing is an art and there are numerous ways to write a resume that highlights your unique career history and defines your personal and professional brand. In fact, if you chose to have your resume professionally written by three different professional resume writers, you would certainly get three different resumes. They would be different in content and maybe even in the choice of format.

Welcome to the Art of the Job Search!

Welcome to the Art of the Job Search, a blog written by me, Nathan Adams, a certified professional resume writer and owner of First Impressions Resume Center. I have been in business since 2002 and this is my first attempt at writing a blog on a consistent basis. I'll talk about all things involved in the job search, from resume writing, to personal branding, to salary negotiations. So feel free to reach out to me at anytime. You can contact me via email at nadams@firstimpressionscount.com.